A Parent's Lesson
by Penna-Nellie
Summary: Horton has a discussion about parenting and love with the Sour Kangaroo during a time when she needs it most. Mild Horton/Kangaroo.


Title: A Parent's Lesson

Summary: Horton has a discussion about parenting and love with the Sour Kangaroo during a time when she needs it most.

Author: Penna-Nellie

Characters/Pairings: Horton the Elephant and Sour Kangaroo. Mentions of Rudy and Morton Jr. (the little ele-bird)

(I suppose this could be taken for some HortonxKangaroo shippy fluff for all you supporters out there 3 First of it's kind? I haven't seen any others around...)

Genre: Family/Hurt/Comfort

Warnings/Disclaimers:

-Horton the Elephant, Rudy Kangaroo, Sour Kangaroo and Morton the Elephant Bird are all © to Dr. Seuss, Bluesky Studios and The Jim Henson Company

-Uh....some of the characters may be OOC (out of character. Mostly Kangaroo mushy-ness X3) but hopefully not too much if this is the case ^^

-It also may be so incredibly fluffy and cute and perhaps even cliché that it'll burn holes in your eye sockets O_O

I give you a fair warning ;D

EDIT: 17/12/09- Did an edit and brief rewrite after reading it once over again.

-------

It's funny how conversations of importance come up in odd places, isn't it?

"Morton?!" a voice called hoarsely for what seemed to be the millionth time that day, "Morton? Rudy? Where are you?"

Horton the elephant and his right hand searching companion, Sour Kangaroo, hurried through the denser part of the Jungle of Nool calling the names of their children in a tone of urgency. They were lost, gone, disappeared. Both animal's faces were etched with worry and, in Kangaroo's case, anger and frustration.

"Ruuuudy?!" the Kangaroo shouted sharply, resulting in a wince from Horton, whose large, sensitive ears were merely inches away from her. The light of the jungle sun was slowly fading as dusk began to paint the sky. Fireflies fluttered undisturbed and the wind began to hum a soothing lullaby. Animals would soon be sleeping and trees would begin to flutter.

Regardless of the seemingly calm scenery, and their frantic calls, neither of their children were anywhere to be found. Instead, their stricken voices were answered by annoyed ishushes/i of early sleepers, and silence. No call backs, no cries.

An awful, empty, silence.

Which frightened the two even more.

Kangaroo was growing more and more impatiently angry as her strict hisses remained unanswered. _How could she have let this happen?, her mind began to fume, How could she have let him out of her sight, for even just a moment? _Finally, she huffed and stopped her bounding. She placed her hands on her hips, a scowl forming. It took the large elephant a moment to realize that the kangaroo was no longer following him, and was no longer calling her son's name. Confused, Horton glanced back at her sudden quiet.

"This is ridiculous! Useless! And it's all his fault! All that thing's fault!" the kangaroo snapped, her anger bubbling out into the open.

Horton tilted his head to the side, unaware of where the conversing was headed. "Kangaroo, please, just calm down. I'm sure they're around somewhere. I mean, how far could they have gotten? Listen, I-"

"No, _you listen!"_ she shouted, grabbing for one of Horton's ears, "Use those ears for a change! If I hadn't let my poor Rudy out with that... that...thing you call your son, he'd still be here with me! Here with me, and we wouldn't be in this mess!" With a sharp tug of the large ear in her hand, her tone began to whine "Why did I let him go with that mutant?! Why?! It was against my better judgement! Why did I let him leave his pouch in the first place! He-"

_That did it._

Horton gave the sour woman an angry glare, causing her rant to fall silent. With force not usual for him, he tore his ear from her grasp. The expression that now creased the gentle pachyderm's face was unlike anything she had ever seen him express. It was terrifying to say the least, and Kangaroo wasn't easily terrified. She cowered slightly, sealing her mouth, and bringing her hands folded in front of her.

The elephant heaved a breath and narrowed his gray eyes. He could put up with a lot of Kangaroo's quirks and nonsense. It was the way she was, and he was okay with that. But no one, repeat, ino one, ever/i spoke of his son in that way. _No one._

And he was sick and tired of Kangaroo thinking she could.

"Honestly Kangaroo!" Horton finally snapped, grabbing her sharply by the arm "How on Earth could you blame little Morton for what happened?! _How?_ He's only a baby, for crying out loud! How could he have caused any of this?!"

The elephant's voice was no longer warm and friendly, no longer his soft tone. Instead, it was low, angered, and, would you believe it?, _threatening_. Kangaroo tried to twist free from his hold on her arm, but it was clear that he wasn't through yet.

" And he is not a _thing,_ he's a little boy, just like your Rudy!" he continued, "Stop picking on him just because he's a little different! That's not his fault either! _You know that!_ I'm just as worried as you are! So, instead of giving up and whining about how you should have kept that poor little darling zipped up in a pouch for the rest of his life and blaming everything on my son, which by the way doesn't deserve what's being thrown at him either, make an effort to actually find him!! And don't you ever speak like that of him!"

Horton gave a low growl, jerking her up from the jungle floor roughly. The kangaroo held a surprised yelp in. _" Understood?"_

Kangaroo was shocked, her mouth hanging open, dangling limply several feet from the air in the elephant's grasp. All she could manage to do was stare back at his angered face, feeling his harsh words (harsh words from Horton anyhow), cut through her chest and nod meekly. Horton almost never raised his voice. _For anything._ He had stated so may times that he didn't believe in anger. It only caused more anger and violence and hurt. An eye for an eye or something like that.

But, here he was, wouldn't you know it? The large creature had let it all out on her, showing only then how dangerous the bull elephant could actually be.

And, although she would never, ever admit it......_it scared her._

He let her thump softly to the ground the fire of his anger cooled somewhat. Horton turned his back to her, mumbling something or other to himself. Kangaroo just sat there, dumbfounded. His outburst and defense began to move past the stabbing and instead, seeped into her brain. Such sharp speaking and yet....

Yet....she knew he was right about Rudy..... About everything.

He always was.

She just wished she had realized this before her mouth had opened.

She folded to her knees on the cool leafy ground, rubbing at the spot his trunk had been so tightly wrapped, and felt her worried tears begin to show through. _No _she tried, squeezing her eyes shut _Don't you dare!_ But the tears would not listen, and continued to slip down her cheeks. How could she be crying? Kangaroo didn't cry. She couldn't cry. It wasn't right. But, with Rudy missing, and possibly the only person she would have ever considered a..._gulp....friend _having turned his back to her, she was in over her head.

_"Wait!"_ she managed, still shaking on the floor. The tears continued to fall, but she no longer cared._ "Wait..Horton..come back..."_

The soft calls reached Horton's ears without problem. He halted in his tracks, trying to figure out what the change in Kangaroo's voice was. Was she angry?

Maybe even angrier than before? Oh, he hoped not! He hadn't meant to make her angry, just get her to stop...and if he backed down, she may start up again!....With all the remaining annoyance he could muster, he huffed and turned back to her.

His companion stared back, un moving, un flinching, leftover fear still in her eyes.

"What?" he grunted softly.

_".....You're.....you're...."_

"I'm what?"

Kangaroo drew in a breath.

What she was about to say, had to be forced, no matter the situation. Usually, when she was sure of her position, she never let go. Never. It was her rule, secret to success. It's how she got what she wanted. But somehow, Horton had managed to slither under her toughened skin and knock her into shape.

And she couldn't get rid of him.

_"...you're right"_ she gasped out, finally letting her voice give way. She curled over and lay her chin on her knees, soft sobs shaking her body, for the first time, in a long time, making herself vulnerable to everyone. The words no longer had to be forced, they just poured out. _"You're right....you're right...you're right...I didn't mean...I...I'm sorry...really...I am..."_

Horton's stiff figure melted, his once heated expression softening immediately when he had seen the hopeless look shine in his kangaroo friend's eyes. They melted, slipping away as if they had never been there, as if it had never happened. When all hostile feelings had finally gone, the elephant was left with a small feeling of surprise.

Getting through to the Kangaroo so quickly (alright,_ at all)_ was not a skill he had quite mastered. Heck, he never thought he would be able to master it. Kangaroo could be so thick minded sometimes, even when they were kids. But there she was. Kangaroo was on the jungle floor, in tears. Not just in tears, but _sobbing._ Sobbing _and agreeing with him!_

All he'd done was spoken up.

He wasn't sure what to make of this. A small feeling of fear nagged at him. Like was said, Kangaroo never broke down in such a way! Not since before Rudy was born anyhow. Her not knowing what to do...was next to impossible. But, she was only animal after all, so that feeling left. It was a triumphant type of moment, so Horton felt proud, but that emotion too, faded away as soon as it surfaced.

The large organ in his chest, his heart, which was responsible for causing him so much trouble in the past, throbbed softly as she continued to look so lost. He sucked in a sigh, rolling his eyes up to the heavens.

_Seuss help me._

With a gentle gait, one that barely rumbled the ground, he walked back to where she was still sitting and towered over her. The light was dusky, and dark was settling, but he could still see her, plain as day. Slowly, awkwardly, he wrapped his trunk around her shoulders and settled into sitting next to her.

He waited with bated breath to see if Kangaroo would throw his touch away from her.

She didn't.

Another surprise to the worried elephant. But today had been filled with surprises so far, so why not another?

_"Oh, please. Please don't cry. Please, really Jane,"_ he murmured softly, trying to keep his voice steady, using her first name as a cement to the comforting conversation. He snapped his mouth shut, his eyes closing. Drat.

He prayed this small slip in a boundary that Kangaroo had set so very long ago would not spook her. They would be right back where they started if it spooked her! Or worse yet, set her off again. That was the last thing he needed right now.

The elephant wasn't too sure he could handle her cold, pessimistic attitude again tonight.

_Jane _looked up tearfully and blinked, surprised.

Horton was the only other animal in the Jungle that still knew and remembered her first name. It had been so long, but the flimsy, childhood memory had stuck. And this knowledge he possessed frightened her. She didn't need others referring to her in that way, just because the elephant couldn't keep quiet. It gave her a headache just thinking about it. It would tear down the walls she had worked so hard to build.

--------

_When they had been children, their mothers had been great friends with each other. Both had died when they were young. Something neither Horton nor Kangaroo ever lived lightly with, and something rare the two had in common._

_The two women constantly pushed the disgusted kangaroo and shy elephant together to play while they chattered and talked as old friends did. It was the way it was. When the mothers were friends, the children spent time infinite amounts of time together. They could either love it, or hate it._

_She absolutely couldn't stand it._

_Horton was happy go lucky, imaginative and friendly, even as a child, but being in the presence of other animals, especially other bfemale/b animals had him cowering behind his mother's legs, a rosy red blush surfacing over his cheeks. He was just so shy in front of her, and she scared him too! He told his mother so. This was always met by a hearty chuckling from the older females, a firm push in the young marsupial's direction and Horton's dear mother murmuring:_

_"Go on darling, I'm sure Jane is very eager to play with you"_

_**Jane.**_

_And the young kangaroo girl, her hair frizzed and whisped, her teeth gaped and her eyes narrowed, would place her hands on her hips._

_Kangaroo never liked her name. It was her grandmother's name. It sounded too soft and weak. Jaaannnne. Bleh. She wasn't that kind of girl. Prim, flimsy and softy-like. Ick. No way._

_When she played, she took charge. Every time, no matter the game. She expected everything to be her way and hers alone. Anyone who said other wise was not looking for a good day. Horton eventually grew onto this, and figured that it was just safer to play the way she wanted, or she might yank on his ears, or crush a flower in front of him again._

_People like her couldn't get by with such a girly sounding name._

_Never mind the fact that she, in fact, was a girl, those were only details. Jane Kangaroo liked looking at the big picture._

_She had insisted to her playmates, Horton and that odd little mouse he hung out with especially, that she wished to be called Kangaroo. It sounded a whole lot more intimidating, and what better way to gain authority than being intimidating?_

_This, along with her tendency to be blunt, critical and somewhat cruel to everyone she met, gained her the nickname of the Sour Kangaroo._

_And she liked that much better than Jane._

_Everyone called her that. No one was stupid enough to disagree with her choosing._

_Everyone except Horton. She wasn't mean all the time, at least he thought, and Jane suited her just fine._

_To him, her name was Jane and that's what he called her._

_And he was the only one who ever remembered. Elephants never forget._

_Everyone else had called her Kangaroo for so long, her past name was nothing but a wispy memory._

_One he hung on to._

_She was terrified that he should ever let the name slip 'accidentally'._

_After time, however, as they grew, and their mother's friendship parted, he eventually did refer to her as she directed._

_That was after she threatened to tie his trunk in a knot if he should ever refer to her otherwise._

-------

Horton blinked at her odd silence, waiting for some normal type of Kangaroo reaction.

It didn't come.

Relieved slightly, his embrace relaxed. He chose to continue on the same path.

"Please, Jane, they're only children, they didn't know any better. You know.... They won't know these things so young. They are not adults yet. Remember how we were sometimes? Back when you were...well... You must let them be children for a little while. Must let them be free, you can't keep them glued to you 24/7, they will never flourish that way-"

Finally, Kangaroo spoke up, tense under the elephant's trunk.

"But...but..." Kangaroo groped for a logical explanation to object. She could still get to be right. She just needed something. Something to turn the happenings into her way. "If they aren't always watched....if they aren't controlled..if their lives aren't controlled...their _decisions_....they could get into awful trouble...they could be given false views on life" she tried, lightly hinting at the speck incident, "....they could get hurt, lost, bashed, _brain washed_.....They could-"

The tired elephant unwound his hug, and placed the tip of his trunk over her rambling lips. Despite the fear and darkness of the situation, the slow mental breaking of his friend, the lost little ones, he gave a small smile. A chuckle almost surfaced from her persistent ramble, oh, how she reminded him of her of long ago!, until his thoughts turned back to sorrow, dusting his eyes over. Now didn't seem like the best time to laugh. She needed him to help her out, and he needed her to look for the children. He snaked his arm around her instead, hoping to turn her views, if ever slightly. Jane sighed, giving up her defense, and buried her head into the elephants embrace.

"_Or,_ they could meet new people, make new friends, learn new things, expand their knowledge, see new places." Horton cut in gently "Remember how happy Rudy was when you let him join my class? How happy he was to meet the others? What he discovered? How happy he was to teach Morton new things? Didn't you love it? Seeing your child so happy? _Didn't you?"_ Horton softly stroked her long, dropped ears, his sad eyes sparkling. "Just....Just because they had one misadventure....doesn't mean....doesn't mean..... it was their _last_..."

Kangaroo nodded slowly, dropping her nose farther to the ground. With a smooth movement, Horton lifted her chin up to meet his eyes. The dark , glittering orbs of Jane Kangaroo, stared back.

The darkness of the approaching night was well upon them now, hiding nooks and crannies, shadowing their clouded faces, but if Horton didn't know any better, (and he wasn't so sure he did at this point) he would have sworn that his friend's eyes held a new shine to them. The tears were there, the sadness unavoidable. But this one...this one was different. A look he'd never seen before. One of hope, determination, trust and perhaps even....

_...respect?_

"But Horton," she coughed out, something in her chest rattling, "What if...what if we never find them?"

And to this, Horton gently rubbed her cheek.

_"We'll find them,"_ he continued in a hushed whisper, feeling a wave of cool air shiver her. Tears began to sting in his eyes as well as his mind drifted to their poor little children alone and scared. How he missed them. A final, comforting hug was given, before Jane hopped up, shaking her head. She grabbed onto his trunk, as a human would grab onto a hand, and pulled him up. Slowly, hand in...well hand, the two searchers resumed, Horton's eyes now shining with his tears. This time, they were silent.

He didn't know it then, but that conversation that the kids had woven from their one little mistake, caused them to have not only sewed the two parents closer together, but also gained Horton the elephant the well deserved respect that he had always wished for from the Sour Kangaroo.

_"I just know we'll find them..."_


End file.
